Primary and secondary schools were ordered closed on Friday in the greater Athens area by the Attica prefecture governor, Rena Dourou, as a precaution against what she called “particularly intense and dangerous weather phenomena and the difficulty in operating schools as well as in pupils’ transportation.”
A rare Mediterranean cyclone-like storm – called a “Medicane” – is expected to affect the Ionian Sea region and southwest Greece over the coming days, characterized by gale force winds and torrential rainfall.
Dourou, elected to the office with leftist SYRIZA party in 2014, has been the target of scathing criticism for her regional entity’s handling of devastating flash flooding in the Mandra industrial district last November and the deadly July 2018 Mati wildfire – two natural disasters that caused more than 120 deaths.
Schools on the Ionian islands of Zakynthos and Cephallonia were also ordered closed.
The storm, named “Xenophon”, has already caused some damage in western Greece, whereas most ferry boat routes in the country have been suspended.
The first snowfall of the season was also reported atop Mt. Olympus.
